In the Global 500 Report Brand Finance regularly determines the most valuable brands in the world. With a brand value of now 150 billion US dollars displaces Amazon competitor Google from the top spot. In the ranking of the greatest brand strenght, Disney takes first place.
What is the purpose of a strong brand: attract customers, build loyalty, motivate employees? All right, but at least for a commercial brand, the first answer must always be: make money. But often there are disagreements between the marketing and finance departments in companies. After all, the return that investments in brand building can generate later can not always be easily quantified. The consulting firm Brand Finance, founded in 1996 to build a bridge between marketing and finance, attempts to do just that and assesses the value of a brand using a proprietary algorithm. We give you an overview of the current Brand Finance Global 500 Ranking:
Brand Value: Amazon on top, Apple continues to rank 2
Amazon displaces Google from rank 1 and may, according to the assessment of Brand Finance, consider itself to be the most valuable brand in the world. The e-commerce giant, which has begun its success story as an online bookstore, is now estimated at a brand value of 150.6 billion US dollars. This corresponds to an increase of 42% compared to the previous year. The reason for the climb to the top position is likely to be the further expansion into other business areas, such as the food market.
Although the brand value of the previous year’s top Google increased by 10%, they currently only achieve 3rd place in the ranking. Apple remains in second place with a brand value of $ 146.3 billion, and despite the disappointing sales figures of the new iPhone X, continues to benefit from the excellent reputation of its smartphones. Samsung and Facebook complete the top 5 – so for the first time only tech companies occupy the top 5 places in the ranking.
Mercedes-Benz ranks 15th and is the most valuable German brand. With a strong increase of 24%, the brand of the German car maker is valued at $ 43.9 billion. Just behind it follows BMW in 17th place.
Many Chinese brands are increasingly enjoying a good international reputation. Overall, the brand value of Chinese companies in the Brand Finance Global 500 ranking has increased 888% to $ 911.5 billion since 2008.
The Top 20:
| Rank 2018 | Rank 2017 | Brand Name | Country | Brand Value (USD m) | % change |
| 1 | 3 | Amazon | USA | 150,811 | +42% |
| 2 | 2 | Apple | USA | 146,311 | +37% |
| 3 | 1 | USA | 120,911 | +10% | |
| 4 | 6 | Samsung | South Korea | 92,289 | +39% |
| 5 | 9 | USA | 89,684 | +45% | |
| 6 | 4 | AT&T | USA | 82,422 | -5% |
| 7 | 5 | Microsoft | USA | 81,163 | +6% |
| 8 | 7 | Verizon | USA | 62,826 | -5% |
| 9 | 8 | Walmart | USA | 61,480 | -1% |
| 10 | 10 | ICBC | China | 59,189 | +24% |
| 11 | 14 | China Construction Bank | China | 56,789 | +37% |
| 12 | 22 | Alibaba | China | 54,921 | +58% |
| 13 | 11 | China Mobile | China (Hong Kong) | 53,226 | +14% |
| 14 | 13 | Wells Fargo | USA | 44,098 | +6% |
| 15 | 20 | Mercedes-Benz | Germany | 43,930 | +24% |
| 16 | 12 | Toyota | Japan | 43,701 | -6% |
| 17 | 16 | BMW | Germany | 41,790 | +6% |
| 18 | 28 | Bank of China | China | 41,750 | +34% |
| 19 | New | State Grid | China | 40,944 | – |
| 20 | 15 | NTT Group | Japan | 40,872 | +1% |
Brand strength: Acquisitions in the streaming segment make Disney even stronger
Brand Finance currently rates Disney as the brand with the most appeal. And that’s for a reason. Disney has been the favorite among children for decades in terms of movies and TV series – and now they are also attacking the adult streaming market. With acquisitions of 21st Century Fox, Star India, Sky and Hulu shares, Disney is significantly expanding its reach, which in turn has a positive impact on brand strength.
The other places in the top 10 are made up of traditional brands such as Ferrari and Lego and younger tech brands like Facebook and Google.
The Top 10 in the overview:
| Rank 2018 | Brand Name | Country | Brand Strength (0 – 100) |
| 1 | Disney | USA | 92.3 |
| 2 | VISA | USA | 91.6 |
| 3 | Ferrari | Italy | 91.5 |
| 4 | Neutrogena | USA | 90.9 |
| 5 | USA | 90.8 | |
| 6 | Lego | Denmark | 90.6 |
| 7 | USA | 90.6 | |
| 8 | PWC | Great Britain | 90.6 |
| 9 | Johnson’s | USA | 90.4 |
| 10 | Microsoft | USA | 90.4 |
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How are Brand Value and Brand Strength determined in the Brand Finance Global 500 Ranking?
When assessing brands, Brand Finance uses the internationally recognized standard for monetary brand valuation ISO 10668. It defines the brand as a marketing-related intangible asset, including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs used to identify goods, services, or objects. Brands create distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, generating economic benefits.
The exact brand value is calculated using the royalty relief approach, which incorporates brand strength, revenue, and royalties in sales.
Brand strength is defined as the power of brand performance compared to competitors. The strength of the brand is made up of metrics such as marketing spend, equity and its impact on business performance.
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